Achara

What's the story with Achara?

Northern Thai grill-inspired Achara (pronounced ah-cara) opened at the end of June in the Aston Quay site formerly occupied by Happy's, from the same team - they also own Crudo in Sandymount and are involved with Juno on Dorset Street.

Happys' global street food on a very challenging street to trade from chugged along but never took off, so the owners decided to change direction. They say they've been obsessed with Thai food since travelling across South east Asia: "The flavours, the smell of grilled meats walking around Chiang Mai, the hustle and bustle of the night markets, that first pad Kra Pao after an 12 hour night train to Surat Thani." Hungry yet? We were.

(Achara)

Achara's aim is to shine a light on the grilling culture of Northern Thailand, with a menu centred around their charcoal grill, custom made by Smokin’ Soul in Co. Wexford. It's used to bring out the smoky best in top Irish produce, like Feighcullen free-range chicken, Goatsbridge trout, and custom Thai sausages made by The Village Butcher in Ranelagh. They say they want to show there's more to Thai food than traffic light curries and Pad Thai, and we like the sound of that.

Where should we sit?

It's the space at the front for us, particularly at the window - Aston Quay might not be the most scenic backdrop but the natural light streaming in those big windows is very pleasant to bath in while you eat.

The whole place is tailor made for groups, but particularly the area at the back in front of the kitchen, which looks ideal for semi-private dining. There's also a lovely round table in the window to the left when you walk in, which fits six comfortably in your own little space.

Drink while we're deciding what to order?

Definitely. There aren't many Southeast-Asian restaurants around town serving BBQ rhubarb gimlets with Thai basil oil (order it, trust us), and Kaffir lime margaritas (didn't taste very different to a regular, well-made margarita). Cocktails here were not a last minute add on, they're a part of the grand plan.

What's on the menu?

Small and large plates designed for sharing - that means that dishes might arrive at different times, and that may or may not infuriate some diners, so if it's a one main per person sitch with no sharing forecast, you're better telling them so they can do their best to accommodate. The menu doesn't specify how many of each thing you get either, so that's another thing worth asking if you're sharing - it looks to be three large chicken wings, and three - four prawns depending on the size.

The lovely small plates for sharing are illogically small for anything more than a few tablespoons, but they seem to have twigged this because larger metal ones came out with the larger plates. You might also be surprised to see a fork and spoon rather than chopsticks, but this is the Thai way - they will bring out chopsticks on request but they're the disposable type and not the nicest to eat with.

First up on the do not miss list are the chicken wings in chilli fish sauce caramel (€10). There's so much crunch wrapped around these juicy, double-jointed chicken wings, and the sweet, salty heat of the caramel sauce is just right. Some fresh coriander on top before you take a bite is the final piece of the flavour puzzle.

You should also get a Killary Fjord mussel skewer in a spicy lemongrass sauce (€4), the mussel texture closer to chicken than seafood, the flavours BIG. If your mouth needs waking up, this will do it.

Goatsbridge trout ceviche (€12) with mint, dill, chilli and little slices of kumquat was more 'cooked' than any ceviche we've had before, so raw fish phobes needn't worry. Ours was surprisingly high on the spicy scale, but it worked well with all of those fresh herbs and the citrus - just make sure you have a full bottle of water on the table, and maybe some tissues for your nose.

Kale fritters (€8) were more like a bar snack, with plenty of grease and sriracha for soakage if needed. Good if you want something to crunch on, but we wouldn't be running to reorder.

Larger plates start at €14 for mushrooms and aubergine, going up to €25 for whole chargrilled sea bass with nam jim seafood (which translates as "seafood dipping sauce"). Our fish should have come off the grill earlier, the flesh a little past tender, but there wasn't much complaining while pulling off pieces of flesh and swirling them around that firecracker of a sauce laden down with chillies, fish sauce, coriander, garlic, lime juice and sugar.

Aubergine fans assemble - Achara's basil chilli version is one of the best dishes using the purple plant that's passed our lips in an age. Bury us in Thai basil, stuff chillies in our ears, lay us on a bed of aubergine so juicy it squirts when you bite into it. There's a mince beef version of the same served with an egg, but this is not playing second fiddle.

The charcoal grill really shows off with the glazed pork belly moo hong, slow cooked to render some of the fat away, then seared on an open flame. It's the live fire taste you can't fake, with the sweet, smoky glaze hitting every part of your palate, but the inner pieces were more tender than the outer, some of which were on the dry side.

The more squeamish may be put off by the Granny Smith and anchovy salad - they're less anchovies, more tiny dried silver fish or whitebait, startled eyes staring up at you. As an accompaniment it feels like it's there more for visuals than for taste, the watery apple not adding much in the way of flavour.

The lunch menu is where the real value is to be had, with selected dishes €15. One of these is the grilled chicken khao soi (€21 on the à la carte menu). Feighcullen free-range chicken is cooked on the grill, and served on top of noodles swimming in a spicy coconut curry, with some raw onions and coriander. It's very good, very spicy and extremely rich (not one for the calorie counters) - the only thing we didn't get was the deep-fried noodles on top which were so hard they felt more like a garnish to be discarded than an edible.

A side of green beans with garlic and chilli could have been more blistered, but while they might not hit the heights of M&L they are probably better than what you make at home.

There's one dessert of charred pineapple, whipped sheep's yoghurt, pistachio crumble and sticky rice (€8). The whipped yoghurt and crumble are added tableside for an attempt at theatre, but it feels like it a scramble for something to put at the end rather than something created out of love. If you skip it you're not missing much.

What are the drinks like?

Proper love has gone into this drinks list, with original cocktails, whiskey sodas (for the real Thai feel), and a wine list that has no business being this interesting when much of the food is popping off with spice. There are 12 wines by the glass, with the only one there for box ticking purposes a prosecco. Top picks would be the Von Winning Weissburgunder, the Arndorfer Zweigelt (chilled), and the Piggy Pop for happiness-inducing pink fizz, but there's little or nothing we wouldn't be happy drinking.

And the service?

Some of Achara's online reviews mention poor service, but on the two occasions we visited staff were welcoming, helpful, and the food came at a good pace. On both occasions the owners were present, so maybe that helped to ensure things were running smoothly. They did also put out a call for staff a couple of weeks ago, saying that their run of good reviews in the press had made them busier than they'd imagined, so perhaps they've had some teething issues with new starters, or a struggle finding them. Either way they'd be foolish if they're not tackling the issue with urgency, and we don't think these guys are that.

What was the damage?

€151 to feed three with four drinks on the bill. Getting in and out for circa €50 a head with a drink is hard to argue with for food this jammed with flavour, and a restaurant without much to fault. There's also a three-course pre-theatre menu served Monday - Friday from 17:00 - 18:30 which is obscene value for €25pp - more money to splash on that wine list.

What's the verdict on Achara?

Achara isn't trying to cook Thai dishes to the letter, but take influence from the food and culture of the North to amp up Irish food in a brand new way. They're bringing walloping flavours, fun and great prices to a strip more known for fast food, dive bars and being the wrong side of Temple Bar, and doing it without compromising on the produce coming into the kitchen - that's impressive by anyone's standards.

If the kitchen keeps pushing for flavour and consistency, and initial front of house issues are resolved, there's so much potential for these tables to join the consistently booked out club.